Murder trial begins with playing of 911 tape

MARTINSBURG – Jurors heard opening statements Wednesday in the trial of one of two men charged in the 2011 slaying of a Falling Waters woman who was allegedly beaten and stabbed to death inside her home during an attempted robbery.

Both Roy L. Wisotzkey, 35, of Hagerstown, Md, and Joshua L. Stitley, 34, of Hancock, Md., were indicted in October 2011 on charges of murder, felony murder, conspiracy, burglary, attempted murder, malicious assault, two counts of assault during the commission of a felony and two counts of first-degree robbery in connection with the May 26, 2011, death of Stitley’s mother, 57-year-old Vickie E. Clem. Her husband, Jack W. Clem, 50, was allegedly struck in the head with a baseball bat and stabbed in the groin with a pocket knife, but survived the attack.

Wisotzkey’s trial began Wednesday in Berkeley County Circuit Court. Stitley is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 22 after a judge ruled Tuesday that the two accused killers must be tried separately.

Prosecutors allege that Wisotzkey took part in the slaying of Vickie Clem, but his attorney told jurors there isn’t enough evidence to convict him of murder. Berkeley County Prosecutor Pamela Games-Neely said the two victims went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. the night of the alleged murder. Stitley had been kicked out of the home months earlier, but still had a key. Facing a divorce and living on the verge of homelessness, Stitley was with Wisotzkey the night of the murder when Games-Neely alleged they hatched a plan to rob the victims.

“That was the plan, and as the result of that Mrs. Clem died,” said Games-Neely. “Mr. Wisotzkey was a willing participant in all these activities. There’s a saying: In for a penny, in for a pound.”

At some point during the night, the two victims were awoken by the sound of someone entering their home, located onVinca Lane within the Potomac Heights subdivision. Jack Clem went to investigate and was allegedly struck in the head with a baseball bat by Stitley, who also allegedly stabbed him in the groin with a pocket knife. Stitley was allegedly armed with a large decorative sword.

Wounded and bleeding profusely, Jack Clem barricaded himself in a bathroom and heard the screams of his wife as she was struck repeatedly.

It’s believed Clem’s wife died after suffering two fatal stab wounds and blunt force injuries as a result of being struck in the head as many as eight to nine times with a bat. Clem passed out from blood loss, but managed to escape to a neighbor’s home after he awoke early the next morning and saw Stitley and Wisotzkey asleep on couches outside the bathroom where he sought refuge.

The jury listed to a 19-minute 911 call made by Clem’s neighbors at about 8:26 a.m. the next morning after Jack Clem fled to their home seeking help. He could be heard weeping in the background of the recording as he told his neighbors of the attack.

“He said someone broke into his house and stabbed his wife and stabbed him. He thinks his wife is dead,” one his frightened neighbors could be heard telling a 911 dispatcher.

Both Stitley and Wisotzkey were seen leaving the victims’ residence that morning in a white 1991 Ford van. The van, driven by Stitley, was spotted by police on Interstate 81 and both men were taken into a custody after a brief vehicle pursuit that ended at about 8:42 a.m. on Hedgesville Road.

Wisotzkey is represented by Martinsburg attorney Christopher Prezioso, who told jurors that no one can dispute the fact that Clem’s murder was tragic, but said the defense believes prosecutors can’t meet their burden of proof.

“What (Games-Neely) just said is not evidence,” Prezioso said. “I think it will become clear to you that the state cannot prove these charges.”

Prezioso said that it was only within a very short period of time that his client met Stitley and the alleged murder occurred, a meeting that Prezioso said will forever haunt Wisotzkey.